Healthy Travel: Fruit and Seed Snack Bread

Good morning!

How are ya today? This morning I’ve got a fantastic guest post for you from Leannefrom Healthful Pursuit. You may remember her Getting to Know Yourself Nutritionallypost from back when I was away in Italy, and lately she’s been cooking up some major deliciousness in her kitchen. She also just went on an adventure to India where she learned what life at an ashram is all about, did a ton of yoga, and even took an Indian cooking class! Leanne is a genius when it comes to creating recipes that are suitable for people that prefer gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan diets. You’re about to find all of this out for yourself, because here she is to tell you all about how she stays healthy when traveling… and there’s a tasty recipe in it for you too. Over to Leanne!

Last time I visited Eat-Spin-Run-Repeat, Angela was enjoying Milan with her family and we were chatting about food journaling. Once again, Angela is off exploring the world; this time bopping around with the kangaroos, and asked if I’d be open to coming to visit again. As if she even had to ask!

In keeping with the traveling theme, I wanted to share a couple of travel favorites with all of you. I recently had the opportunity to go to India for a month, to live at an ashram in Kerala, stay with a local family on the beach, and tour the streets of Mumbai… all by myself. It was a life changing experience that’s made me fall madly in love with India, view the world in a completely different way, and resulted in some pretty drastic changes in my personal life.

I was so nervous to do this trip alone. My fears ranged from concerns about my safety, luggage, airports, muggings, leaving my family behind, travel plans, meeting new people, availability of gluten-free, healthy food, you name it. Out of all of the things I was worried about, food seemed to be the only area I could prepare for to lower my anxiety.

I collected quite the stockpile of packaged health products, meal planned my days to ensure I hadn’t missed anything, and prepared a bunch of baked goods so I’d never feel like I was out of options to eat. Of the healthy baked treats I brought with me my favorites were:

I froze a big batch of these pancakes – minus the apples, before I left. They managed to last the first 3 days of my trip. There’s nothing quite like being in a scary new city and starting the day off with a home cooked breakfast!

And last but certainly not least, was this fruit and seed snack bread I created the morning I left for India. How I had the ability to write down the recipe, let alone bake just hours before I left is beyond me. Nevertheless, I’m happy that I saved it and get to share it with you today!

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375F and line an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan with parchment paper across both sides for easy lifting.

Combine dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Add wet. The consistency should be similar to a muffin.

Add dried fruit and seeds.

Pour mixture into prepared pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until sides begin to brown and the top will be cracked and toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Remove from the oven, lift from the pan and place on a cooling rack for 20 minutes before cutting with a sharp knife.

Nutrition info for one slice:

This bread is absolutely to die for! It’s so jam-packed with seeds and fruit that you don’t need much to satisfy your sweet tooth. It traveled really well with me and made for a great conversation starter and trading item with other travelers when I needed supplies.

Hi Izabela – I haven’t tried the recipe any other way, but that’s not to say it wouldn’t work. Brown rice flour is similar to buckwheat, millet and quinoa, so you could try swapping it out with those. Or yes, give it a go with 100% chickpea flour. If you do try it, I’d love to know how it works out for you!

Thanks for sharing. I am traveling to France in May and am looking for some healthy snacks for breakfast and to fuel us up for all the walking we will surely be doing! On a recent trip to Montreal… I cut up lots of vegetables, brought some hummus (we had access to a fridge) and also made up a batch of raw energy bars and quinoa granola. Great to have on hand.

I don’t eat a lot of bread but I love bread with a lot of seeds and mix-ins like dried fruit..great recipe..I am def saving this one! Thanks! p.s. I am so happy Leanne was one your guests, I have missing her blog..headed over now!

Yay!! Hi Leanne! One of my favorite bloggers on one of my new favorite blogs! This bread looks incredible. Love the ingredients, too.
When I travel, I tend to bring lots of homemade things like gluten-free muffins, trail mix, air popped pop corn, dried and fresh fruit, some healthy chocolate treats, etc.
I stay healthy when I am away by packing my travel yoga mat no matter where I go, and finding time to squeeze yoga and meditation in every single day, no matter where in the world I am.

Staying healthy away from home is hard, but I try to pack lots of snacks so that I always have a healthy alternative! Lots of nuts, fruit that is easy to pack and durable (like apples and not usually bananas because they always end up smashed at the bottom of my purse or bag), and bars like thinkThin.

So first off all, I miss you and your blog Leanne!! That sounds like such an absolutely wonderful experience. It takes some serious guts to travel to a foreign country all on your own. But I’m certain you can away with so much more knowledge about yourself and the world!

Going to check out your healthy charms cereal right now! That sounds fantastic!

I am terrible about prepping ahead nutritionally when traveling! I usually just try to make up for bad choices before and after my trip by eating really well. Hopefully one day I’ll get better about it… I just never plan ahead early enough to actually make something ahead of time.

Hi Leanne,
LOVE this recipe! I know you mentioned it travels/keeps well. How long would you say it stays fresh for? And can I keep it out at room temp. or should I refrigerate it if I can? Many thanks!

Hi Stephanie! Sorry I’m just getting to your comment now. It kept for a week for me. I had it unrefrigerated for the first 4 days and it was fine. Alternatively, you could make it into a biscotti (just slice it up and return it to the oven for another 15 minutes or so) so that it lasts longer. Hope that helps!